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Article published In: Narrative Inquiry
Vol. 24:2 (2014) ► pp.259–280

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Visual narrative and trauma recovery

 | Northwestern University
Published online: 24 November 2014
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.24.2.05hoe
Visual representations are powerful vehicles for the transmission of collective memory and the processing of traumatic events (Zelizer, 1998). But how do images create narrative, particularly in context of a traumatic past? This paper analyzes two visual narratives created by national truth commissions in Guatemala and Peru. Drawing from various theories of visual narrative and visual grammar, mainly Eisner (1985), McCloud (1993), Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006), and Cohn (2013), this paper analyzes how each project used visuals — photography and illustrations — to create the building blocks of narrative: characters, setting, and plot. It compares and contrasts the two projects in terms of how they depict the main actors in the conflicts, as well as the main events and the overall visual narrative structure. Finally, this paper discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of each medium as a post-traumatic tool.
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Crawford, Rebekah Perkins
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Appleton, Catherine
2021. The theory-practice interplay in creating a graphic memoir about the trauma of forced migration. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 12:5 ► pp. 535 ff. DOI logo
lisahunter
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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 28 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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